Credentialed courses from:

Ice House Entrepreneurship Program (IHEP) – Mindset Training

March 16 – April 6 from 9:00 am – 11:00 am

Community Bootcamp for Entrepreneurs: BizStarts Institute
April 21 – May 26 from 1:00 pm – 4:30 pm

BizStarts has been serving entrepreneurs in the Milwaukee region for over a decade. Seeing the need in our community for a credentialed system of learning “Entrepreneurship in Adversity”, we started the BizStarts Institute. Since 2020 BizStarts has held 6 cohorts in English, 2 in Spanish and we are excited to announce that we are now offering accommodations for people who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing! In creating this program BizStarts sought support from the University of Notre Dame Professor, Michael Morris. Michael’s programs are renowned for creating companies from people in poverty throughout the world. BizStarts Institute is intense, hands-on exposure to the fundamentals of launching and growing a successful venture, taught by seasoned faculty, subject matter experts, and successful entrepreneurs. The bootcamp occurs on six consecutive Saturday mornings. Year long mentorship is available after the initial 6-week program!

The Business Bootcamp is preceded by a 4 week virtual Entrepreneurial Mindset Training with speakers certified by the Kauffman Foundation.

The Ice House Entrepreneurship Program (Small Business Edition) is an experiential, problem-based learning program designed to expose participants to the fundamental aspects of an entrepreneurial mindset, essential for anyone to succeed in today’s rapidly changing and highly complex world, regardless of their chosen path, and the limitless opportunities it can provide.

Participants who complete this course will learn to:

• Identify and evaluate opportunities that others overlook
• Transform a simple idea into a sustainable success
• Embrace an entrepreneurial mindset as a life-skill
• Identify and overcome self-limiting beliefs

Topics covered in the Community Bootcamp:

• Address all facets of a successful venture
• Ranging from the development of a viable business concept to understanding your market
• Designing your profit model
• Setting up operations properly
• Marketing your venture
• Understanding the basic numbers

Our underlying focus is how to think and act in entrepreneurial ways—including how to do more with less—and how to grow a venture when you have little in the way of resources. The approach will be interactive, so participants will be encouraged to bring business ideas and challenges into the weekly discussions.

We have a teach by doing approach:

• You won’t just learn accounting, but will actually put your numbers into books.
• You won’t just learn marketing, but will actually run social media pages.
• You won’t just learn sales, but will know where to find customers.

Venue:

BizStarts Community Market

161 S 1st St, Milwaukee, WI, 53204

Program Cost & Scholarships:

When you apply, you’ll automatically be entered into the scholarship consideration.

The program cost is $1000, but we don’t want that to discourage you from applying!

BizStarts is a registered 501c3 organization, serving the community through entrepreneurial programming. As part of our commitment to an equitable future, any funds collected from those who are able will directly support the scholarships for entrepreneurs who may not otherwise have the resources to participate. 

Schedule

Session 1: Bootcamp Basics: The Entrepreneurial Dream

It All Starts with an Idea; Thinking the Entrepreneurial Way; The Nature of the Entrepreneurial Experience; Entrepreneurship as a Process; Entrepreneurship as a Journey; Why Anyone Can Do It; Key Competencies and Skills; The Four Types of Ventures that Entrepreneurs Start; The Commodity Trap; Opportunity versus Concept.

Session 2: What You Need to Know About the Numbers

Understanding Your Model for Making Money; Basic Economics of Your Business; Determining How Much You Have to Sell to Survive; What You Really Need to Know About Financial Statements; Why Cash Flow is King.

Session 3: Planning, Thinking Strategically, and Managing Your Risk

Working On Your Business Not Just In Your Business; Planning versus the Business Plan; Audiences for Plans; The Logic and Structure of a Good Plan; Mistakes Made in Writing Your Plan; How to Use the Plan; Strategic Thinking, Your Profit Model, How to Address the Commodity Trap; Mitigating Risks Surrounding Your Business.

 Session 4: Getting Resources (including Money) When You Do Not Have Any Money

Getting Resources When You Don’t Have Any; How to Bootstrap and Leverage Resources; What About Money?; How Much Money; Sources of Money; When to Use What Source; How to Approach the Various Sources; What an Entrepreneur Needs to Know About Negotiation.

 Session 5: Customers Drive the Business

Markets and Marketing; Understanding your Customers; Segmenting the Market; The Guerrilla Concept; Doing More with Marketing While Spending Less; Entrepreneurial Approaches to Core Marketing Decisions.

Session 6: Operations and Other Fundamentals that Matter

Formal Operations; Designing Your Formal Operating Model; A day in the Life and Associated Issues of Value, Quality, Bottlenecks, Suppliers and More; Finding People: What You Need to Know About Employees and Staffing Issues; Forms of Organization; Other Fundamentals that Matter.

Check out additional resources from AARP on how to start or grow your business!

• Work For Yourself@50+  (no cost downloadable tool kit is available!)
• Cultivating Entrepreneurship: Learn more about how older adults are making an impact in your community
• Turn Your Skills Into a Business Opportunity
• Quiz: The Basics of Starting Your Own Business